As described in the last engineering update, the UKCDS Secretariat has been working with DFID to map the engineering for development research base. This mapping analysed who was winning competitive research calls, complementing this information with qualitative data from a survey and semi-structured interviews with research leaders.

It shows that research on infrastructure is currently undergoing a renaissance in DFID: in 2013 the Research and Evidence Division (RED) invested an estimated £45m in infrastructure research, representing a threefold increase since 2000 and 15% of the 2013-14 Division’s budget.

The report, put together over four weeks in April 2014, was used as one document underpinning the recent DFID Research Advisory Group discussion on infrastructure. It has been published here in case of wider interest.